


Echoes

by DawnieWrites



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Sense8, Alternate Universe - Sense8 (TV) Fusion, Inspired By Sense8, Multi, little bit of strong language, sense8 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 10,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15765144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnieWrites/pseuds/DawnieWrites
Summary: When the dreams start, Clarke doesn’t think about them at all. She writes it off as her brain reliving the stories that her father used to tell her. A coping mechanism.





	1. A Coping Mechanism

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this like a year ago at the end of season 4. Currently it is 54 pages (over 18k words) and counting.
> 
> So the first few chapters are pretty short and read like little one-shots and drabbles until we get to the place where the first season starts.
> 
> Be warned, I mess with character ages and whatnot to make things work the way I want them to in this 'verse.

Her father loved to tell her stories about the ground. No one has set foot there for more than a century, but Clarke’s face lit up every time he repeated one of the tales that had been passed down from the first generation of Arkers. Stories about green grass, clear water, blue sky, and bright sun. So, when the dreams start, Clarke doesn’t think about them at all. She writes it off as her brain reliving the stories that her father used to tell her. A coping mechanism.

She wakes on the morning of her sentencing with the worst headache she’s ever felt. She squeezes her eyes shut, pressing the heels of her palms against them to try and quell the growing migraine.

During her sentencing, she refuses to look at anyone. She won’t look up at the Chancellor. Won’t turn around to face her mother, who is so scared for her. She refuses to even acknowledge Wells’ existence ( _ traitormurdererbackstabber _ her brain whispers). When the Chancellor announces to the small room of people gathered that she will be confined in solitary until her retrial on her eighteenth birthday, she hears her mother choke back a sob.

She allows the two guard members to escort her from the room without complaint. Halfway to the Sky Box, she starts smelling something unfamiliar. It smells wet and clean and  _ free _ . They turn a corner and Clarke suddenly finds herself walking through a forest, something she’d only seen in one of the Earth Skills books . There’s grass – something she’d only read about – wet and green, crunching quietly beneath her feet. The air –  _ air!  _ – is fresh and cold and crisp in her throat. She turns her head and sees a figure – a man, she thinks, it’s hard to tell under the animal skins and white bone mask they’re wearing – walking crouched through the forest, spear in hand.

“Who are you?” she breathes. He turns to her, startled. She blinks and is back on the Ark, standing in front of the solitary confinement cell as one of the guards unlocks the door and shoves her inside. She stands in silence as they release her restraints and lock her in the room. Clarke collapses onto the bed provided, rubbing at her throbbing head and trying to ignore the sound of something sharp –  _ the spear  _ – impacting something soft –  _ a deer _ , her mind provides. She rolls over and tries to sleep.


	2. The Metal Box

He wakes up in a metal box. It’s dark and cold and unfamiliar. He sits upright and crouches in a defensive stance, taking in the small surroundings.

“Where is this?” he asks in his own tongue.

“The Ark,” a woman answers. He turns to see the blonde he had seen appear in the forest while he was hunting the day before. She’s lying on top of a stuffed mattress on a metal bench, arms folded under her head and one knee bent as she stares through the roof of the metal box they are both trapped in. The moon is bright overhead, closer than he ever remembers it being, and he finds himself staring as well.

“I’m Clarke,” the blonde says after a moment. “What’s your name?”

“Lincoln,” he answers before she disappears and he finds himself back in his own hut in his own village. It’s not until later that day, when he starts shivering while he’s splitting firewood under the bright sun, that he realizes that Clarke was speaking to him in Trigedasleng.


	3. Reborn

Most nights, when Clarke is sitting on her bed, staring up at the moon, she suddenly finds herself standing on the ground with Lincoln. She knows - her medical mind  _ tells her _ \- that she’s hallucinating. A way of coping with the solitude. The logical part of her mind says that she  _ must  _ be hallucinating. Her heart isn’t so sure. Sometimes Lincoln will show up in her cell. He paces. Being confined doesn’t suit him.

Clarke has no real way to track her time in solitary, but she thinks maybe two weeks have passed when she looks up one morning to find Marcus Kane’s mother standing next to her bed, smiling at her. Clarke screams and suddenly Lincoln is sitting next to her, worry on his face.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. Clarke doesn’t answer. She’s staring at Vera.

“How did you get in here?” she demands. Lincoln gives her a strange look.

“There’s no one there, Clarke.”

“I’m not really here,” Vera answers. Clarke blinks and suddenly she’s standing next to her in the prayer room as she waters the small tree.

“What-?”

“You’ve been granted a gift, Clarke Griffin,” Vera tells her. “Many people are only born once in their life. You get to be reborn. You’ve been seeing someone, haven’t you?”

“I’m hallucinating.”

“You haven’t been in solitary near long enough for that,” Vera laughs, sitting next to Clarke on her bed, back in her cell. Lincoln is still on her other side, staring at her, still worried. “You’ve been seeing someone. Someone on the ground. You’ve felt the sun and smelled the grass. You’ve breathed  _ air _ , haven’t you?” Clarke turns to Lincoln and, for the first time, reaches out to touch him, resting her hand on top of his. He goes unbelievably still, but doesn’t disappear. His hand is warm under hers, calloused and soft at the same time.

“His name is Lincoln,” Clarke finds herself saying. She turns back to look at Vera, not letting go of Lincoln’s hand. “How do you know all this?” Vera smiles.

“Because I birthed you. You, and your seven other selves.”

“This is how you knew,” Clarke realizes, speaking slowly. “This is why you believe so strongly in returning to the ground.” Vera nods, smiling impossibly wider and when Clarke turns back to Lincoln, a small smile beginning to tease the edge of her lips, Vera disappears.


	4. Haunted

“How did you learn all of this?” Clarke asks Vera the next time that she visits. Vera smiles softly.

“The man that birthed my cluster was very knowledgeable,” she answers, trimming the small branches of her tree. “We were not his first children, but we were his last. He had a very hard life on the ground.” Clarke frowns.

“Why haven’t you told anybody?”

“That I have voices in my head all telling me that they live and survive on the ground despite any remaining radioactivity?” Vera raises an eyebrow at her.

“Point.”

“Have you met any of the others?” Clarke shakes her head.

“Sometimes I’ll get…feelings. But so far, I’ve only seen Lincoln. He’s kind of quiet,” she shares.

“The beautiful thing about being sensate is that you don’t always need words to communicate with your cluster.” Vera turns around and takes a seat next to Clarke on her bed. “You gain an understanding of people who you sometimes otherwise would never have known.”

“Are there any other Arkers in my cluster?”

“Two. One from Farm Station, who also happens to be in the Sky Box. One from Mecha Station.”

“Do you know when I’ll meet them?”

“Technically, you already have.” Clarke gives Vera a  _ look _ , and she just laughs and disappears. Clarke falls back onto her bed, staring up at the moon. A moment later she’s lying on the grass, staring up at the sky from the ground instead of the Ark.

“You’re real,” Lincoln says, lying next to her.

“So are you.”

“I thought I was haunted.”

“I thought I was hallucinating,” Clarke responds. “You live on the  _ ground _ .”

“You live in the sky.” Clarke snorts a laugh. “Why did your people lock you away?” Lincoln asks, turning to look at her. This is the first time she’s seen his face without the war paint.

“They were scared that I would tell everyone the truth.”

“What truth?”

“The Ark is dying. Without it, so will all of us.”


	5. Not Hunting

Her mother manages to get permission to visit and bring her some chalk and a few of her books. Clarke sits on her bed, unable to look at her.

“How long have I been in here?” she asks.

“Two months,” Abby answers. “I miss you, Clarke.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“I’m  _ worried _ for you,” Abby corrects. “The guards were telling me that you’ve been talking to yourself.” Next to her, Lincoln chuffs a laugh.

“You don’t look like her,” he comments. Clarke purses her lips against a smile.

“It helps me think,” she lies to her mother. “There hasn’t been much else to do in here.”

“I know. I tried to talk Thelonious out of putting you into solitary, but Marcus wasn’t sure you could be trusted not to start a riot,” her mother scoffs. “But that’s why I brought you the books, and the chalk. They wouldn’t let you have any pens or pencils, but the chalk is soft. And I’ll try to come and visit again soon but…” Abby hesitates.

“They can’t be seen giving a prisoner special treatment,” Clarke finishes. She reaches out and takes her mother’s hands, squeezing. She looks up, meeting her mother’s eyes for the first time since she was arrested. “Thank you, mom.” Her mother smiles.

“Do you want me to give a message to anyone?” Clarke shakes her head, letting go of her mother’s hands and sitting up straight.

“Who would I send a message to?” Her mother stands. She pauses before knocking on the door to get a guard to release her, turning around to grab Clarke in a tight hug and leave a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

“Your mother is a healer?” Lincoln asks once her mother is gone and the guards have taken the chair away.

“Yea. I was training under her,” she tells him, falling in step next to him in the forest. “What are you hunting today?”

“Not hunting,” he answers, holding up his satchel. “My friend Nyko is training as a healer. They need some medical plants. I volunteered.”

“What kind of plants?” That night, Clarke uses the chalk to draw every single plant that Lincoln picked.


	6. Once A Warrior

It feels like the whole room is rocking back and forth. Clarke looks up from where she’s kneeling on the floor, drawing Lincoln’s favorite hunting grounds on her wall. The Ark is gone. In its place, she finds herself kneeling on a metal platform surrounded by only water.

“Another sky person,” a woman sighs behind her. Clarke stands, turning around to find a woman with curly brown hair sitting behind her, cleaning and deboning fish. She smiles.

“Another grounder.” The woman looks up at her and tilts her head, considering.

“My name is Luna, of the Sea People.”

“I’m Clarke,” she walks over and sits next to her, watching her hands work. “You’ve met someone else on the Ark?”

“His name is Jasper. They keep him in a cage with other children.” Clarke nods.

“The Sky Box. It’s where they send minors who have committed a crime. Adults are just spaced.” Clarke reaches out and starts cleaning a fish herself.

“Executed,” Luna corrects her, reaching out and fixing Clarke’s grip on the knife. “You’ve met another on the ground?”

“His name is Lincoln. He is Trikru, a warrior.”

“I was a warrior once.” Clarke’s hands stop moving. She looks over at Luna. Her face is expressionless. Clarke sets down the knife, wipes her hands on her pants and reaches over to give Luna a hug. That night, she chalks out the faces of Luna and her brother underneath her bed.


	7. Nowhere to Go

“I hate the ocean.”

Clarke looks up from her drawing of the four-eared, four-eyed rabbit Lincoln had seen two days ago to find him sitting on her bed. She smirks.

“You met Luna, then.”

“Being surrounded by water is no better than being trapped in a metal box. There’s nowhere to go.”

“I think it’s nice. Free.” She puts down her chalk and goes to sit down on the floor in front of him, settling her head against one of his knees so he can braid her hair. “I would think that for someone who dislikes fighting so much, you could appreciate why Luna chose the sea.” Lincoln doesn’t answer her, just starts combing his fingers through her hair.


	8. Holy Shit

Clarke is staring at the moon again, lying in bed looking through the glass. She sighs and sits up to find herself staring at the moon from a completely new angle.

“Whoa,” she breathes.

“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” a female voice comments. Clarke just nods. A hand reaches out to grab hers where they seem to be floating in space outside of the Ark and Clarke turns to find a pretty young woman with dark hair, skin and eyes smiling at her.

“You’re from Mecha?”

“Raven Reyes. Youngest zero-g mechanic ever on the Ark. I hope,” Raven adds as she turns off the simulation.

“I’m –”

“I know who you are, Clarke Griffin,” Raven interrupts her, walking around Clarke’s cell, fingers tracing the chalk drawings on the walls. “There isn’t a person on the Ark who doesn’t, I think. What everyone _doesn’t_ know is what one of the children of Ark royalty did to end up in the Sky Box.” Clarke catches Raven’s eyes, pinning her with a serious look.

“Holy shit.” Clarke just nods. “We are so fucked.”


	9. So Do I

Clarke spends most of her time not staring up at the moon visiting those in her cluster she’s managed to meet. So far, Vera has come to visit at least once a week, helping her learn how to visit at will. She doesn’t know if Vera can or does visit the others, but she makes sure to pass on what information she can. Her mother has only managed to come visit again one other time.

“How is Jasper doing?” She asks Luna as they work at repairing a fishing net.

“Jasper is not locked alone in a metal box,” the other woman answers, handing Clarke a knife. “He has others to pass his time with.”

“Technically, so do I.”

“And if our…rebirth…had not happened?” Clarke doesn’t answer her.

The next morning, when she wakes, she rolls over to find a young man lying next to her, a pair of goggles slung around his neck. Clarke smiles.

“Good morning, Jasper.”


	10. Jasper

Jasper is smart. That’s part of what landed him in the Sky Box in the first place. He and his friend Monty get bored easily, which led to them wondering exactly  _ what else _ farm station could be cultivating. Of course, they got caught. And, of course, since all soil is rationed for specific crops and specific crop output, they got arrested and sent to the Sky Box. At least they got placed in the same cell.

Clarke finds that she enjoys sitting in on Jasper and Monty’s conversations. They’re both extremely intelligent and funny. Jasper had told Monty as soon as he met Luna because he, like Clarke, though her a hallucination at first. Then Vera managed to wrangle a visitation to Jasper and explained it all to him. So, Monty is in the know as far as Jasper and Clarke and the cluster. Which means she has one more person that she can talk to. Jasper knows about her father and the flaw (and Wells), but it’s probably the only thing that he hasn’t told Monty.

Clarke sometimes wonders if they should tell him after all.


	11. Radiation Leak

Four months before their eighteenth birthday, Clarke wakes up in the medical center. She hears the familiar surroundings before she opens her eyes, and is instantly confused. Not too far from whichever bed her mother has her in, she can hear her mother arguing with someone ( _ Marcus _ Vera’s voice supplies).

“- _ not _ sending her back there!”

“She’s dangerous, Abby!”

“Dangerous to  _ you _ and your _ precious order _ , maybe. But she is  _ not _ a physical threat to anyone and the isolation is  _ killing  _ her!”

“I’m so sorry,” a new voice sighs weakly. Clarke turns her head to find a pale young woman with dark, curly hair lying in the bed next to hers. She’s not on the Ark anymore; this is a different medical center completely. “I didn’t know you’d be able to share pain, too. My name is Maya. You’re Clarke?” Clarke just nods. “I’ve been visiting when I can. That’s what the doctor called you.”

“She’s my mother. What happened?”

“There was a breach,” the woman answers, fingers fiddling with the tubes connected to the port in her chest. “A radiation leak.”

“Where?”

“Mount Weather.”

“Clarke?” Clarke turns to find her mother leaning over her, one hand lifting her eyelids as the other shines a light, checking her pupil reactions. “Can you hear me, baby?”

“I’m fine, mom.”

“You are not fine,” her mother snaps, putting the light away and taking a seat in a chair next to the bed. Her mother looks so tired. “You started screaming in your cell. The guards didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t find any visible injury, so Marcus ordered them to sedate you and bring you here. When you woke up, you just kept screaming.”

“How long?” Clarke asks.

“I’ve been in medical for three days,” Maya answers as her mother tells her the same thing.

“I did every possible scan, and there’s no sign of any kind of an injury. Marcus wants me to release you back to lockup.” Maya frowns.

“Lockup?” Clarke just nods.

“I’m going to keep you here as long as I can, honey,” Abby promises, “obviously the isolation is taking an effect.”

“Thanks, mom. I’m just really tired right now.”

“Of course. I’ll let you get some rest.” Her mother plants a kiss on her forehead and walks away. Clarke can hear Marcus hissing at her.

“Obviously, we should get someone a little less biased to make the decisions surrounding Clarke.”

“Screw you, Marcus.” Maya reaches out and grasps Clarke’s hand. Clarke squeezes back and turns to smile at her.

“It’s okay,” she promises. “I’ll be fine. Tell me about Mount Weather?”


	12. The Mountain

Lincoln snarls when she tells him about Maya. She frowns at him, adding another small branch to his dying fire.

“What?”

“The Mountain Men are dangerous,” he snaps.

“The Mountain Men?” she repeats incredulously. He reaches for the small leather-bound journal Clarke had helped him piece together a few months earlier and flips it open to a specific page. He hands it to Clarke: the page is covered in drawings of figures wearing military uniforms and gas masks. Clarke’s mouth goes dry.

“They take any of us who get too close.” He explains harshly. “I’ve lost many friends to the mountain.” Clarke swallows hard. She falls asleep feeling Maya’s shame souring her own throat.


	13. Faulty

“Clarke!” Clarke sits up straight to find Raven standing next to her, her face pale and panicked. Dimly, she realizes that she hears muted alarms outside of medical

“What is it? What’s happening?”

“It’s Finn.”

“Did he do something? Did he hurt you?” Raven shakes her head.

“No. It was me.” She bites her lip and then tells Clarke everything about her illicit spacewalk.

“He took the blame?” Raven nods.

“He said that it was better. That I would be eighteen soon, and it wasn’t nearly enough time for them to forget about exactly what I did before the retrial. He still thinks that I can make it to zero-gravity.”

“What about the oxygen?” Clarke asks, crouching next to Raven where she’s still hiding in the exit bay. Raven looks away, unable to meet Clarke’s eyes. “Raven?”

“They aren’t sure but…based on what I saw, and based on what they’re saying,” she nods at the engineers working on the faulty air-lock, “the estimate is we lost maybe a month’s worth.”

“Fuck.”


	14. Other Friends Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last little drabble/one-shot/ficlet bit before getting to the real meat of the story.
> 
> I currently have 4 1/2 of the episodes from season 1 written. I think I'll post one a week or every other week but I won't post episode 1 until Monday.
> 
> Thank you all for reading this far and look forward to more!

“I thought your mom was trying to keep you in medical?” Clarke looks up from her most recent drawing (a vague image of Luna spear-fishing) to find Jasper looking over her shoulder. “Something about the isolation rotting your perfect brain?” He grins at her and she grins back, returning to her work.

“She was. But then Wells heard I was in medical and started trying to get them to let him visit.”

“Wasn’t Prince Jaha like your bestest buddy?”

“Until he betrayed me and got my father spaced,” she puts down her chalk and turns to lean her back against a clean patch of wall. “Or did you forget about that part? Besides,” she smiles at him, “I have other friends now.”


	15. The 100

Clarke is drawing the sun when everything changes. She had watched the sunrise with Lincoln and Luna that morning, and it reminded her of one of her dad’s favorite science lessons. So she took out her chalk and took to filling the entire emptiness of her floor. She’s in the middle of filling in the outlines, can still feel the sun on her face, can feel the sea breeze from where Luna is standing outside, when the guards come rapping on her door.

“Prisoner three-one-nine, face the wall.” Clarke puts down the chalk and stands up as the guards enter, turning so she’s facing the wall. Suddenly, Jasper is standing next to her.

“Clarke, they’re going around to all of the prisoners in the Sky Box.”

“What is this?” She asks the guard, panic rising in her throat.

“Quiet,” the guard orders, opening a box of wristbands, “hold out your right arm.”

“No. No, it’s not my time. I don’t turn eighteen for another month,” she protests, spinning around and backing up until she’s against the wall. “Check my file!”

“Your watch.”

“No. It was my father’s.” Luna is next to her now, face cold.

“Take it off.” The guard grabs her wrist and Luna reacts, grabbing  _ his _ wrist and twisting until it breaks. She knees him in the stomach and Clarke runs past him, out into the hallway, where she sees everyone being removed from their cells.

“Go left,” Luna orders, driving her elbow into the nose of the second guard that tries to grab Clarke. Clarke does as she’s told, running down the rows of cells in the direction that she instinctively knows will take her to Jasper, Luna helping her fight past the guards. A guard sneaks up behind her and grabs her by the neck and shoulder, slamming her against the wall. She and Luna both fall, disoriented for a moment. When Clarke looks up, her mother is standing there.

“Clarke, stop!” Luna freezes as Clarke tries to get her frantic breathing under control. A guard pulls her to her feet and forces her against the railing. She can see all of the other minors that had been living in the Sky Box being herded down the halls.

“Mom?” Clarke whips her head around. “They’re killing us all, aren’t they? Reducing population to give the rest of you more time?”

“I’m sorry,” Raven whispers in her ear, tears streaming down her face. Clarke can feel them on her own cheeks.

“Clarke, look at me,” her mother reaches out to cup her face with both hands. “Clarke, you are not being executed.” Clarke searches her mother’s face, can see the hope there. “You’re being sent to the ground; all one hundred of you.”

“What?” She can hear Jasper, Raven, Lincoln, Luna, and Maya all echoing her shock. “But it’s not safe. No. No! We – we get reviewed at eighteen!”

“The rules have changed,” her mother tells her as the guards lead more prisoners past them. “This gives you a chance to live. But listen to me: your instincts will tell you to take care of everyone else first, just like your father, but be careful” Clarke’s gut twists at the mention of her father. Her mother wipes the tears from Clarke’s cheeks and kisses her hard on the forehead. “Be careful, Clarke. I love you, so much.” Clarke squeezes her eyes shut as one of the guards presses the tranquilizer gun to her neck and then the world goes dark.

 

* * *

 

 

“Don’t look,” Jasper warns her as she swims into consciousness. Clarke groans and lifts her head.

“Welcome back,” an unwelcomely familiar voice states from her right side. Clarke turns her head.

“Wells,” she spits, glancing quickly around the dropship before returning her attention to him.

“I told you not to look,” Jasper remarks wryly.

“Why the hell are you here?” Clarke asks Wells sharply.

“When I found out they were sending prisoners to the ground, I got myself arrested,” he explains, “I had to come for you.” He reaches for her hand and she snatches it back as the dropship jerks and shakes and people scream.

“What was that?”

“That was the atmosphere,” both Wells and Raven answer as the monitors on the ship flare to life, displaying Thelonius Jaha’s face as he addresses them. Clarke ignores him, searching the dropship until she spots Jasper sitting against one of the walls, Monty next to him. She sighs in relief. Her attention snaps back to the monitors when she hears Jaha say where the dropship is programmed to land them.

“Did he just say Mount Weather?” Maya asks.

“Yea, why?” Wells answers, giving Clarke an odd look. Clarke looks around desperately until she meets Jasper’s eyes. He looks worried. Someone goes floating up from their seat and she hears a couple of the prisoners whistling and laughing about the ‘spacewalker’.

“Finn!” Raven practically shouts in Clarke’s ear as two other prisoners move to follow his example. Wells warns Finn about strapping in, and Clarke looks to the others.

“You two! Stay put if you want to live!” She snaps, checking to make sure her own safety belt is tight enough.

“Hey,” Finn says, right in front of Clarke. “You’re the traitor who’s been in solitary for a year.”

“And you’re the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk.” Clarke retorts before she can think better of it. She mentally apologizes to Raven, who waves her off.

“But it was fun,” Finn answers. “I’m Finn.”

“Stay in your seats!” Lincoln thunders as the two kids unbuckle their belts and follow Finn out of their seats. A moment later, the parachutes deploy and the entire ship jerks and shakes. “Finn, are you okay?” Raven yells. The ship jerks again and people around her yell and gasp.

“The retro-rockets should kick in. It might take a second, I don’t know how old this equipment is,” Raven tells her. A moment later, Wells echoes some concern about the retro rockets not firing.

“Everything on this ship is a hundred years old, right?” Clarke finds herself reassuring him, “just give it a minute.”

“Clarke, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Really? Right now?!” Raven exclaims.

“Yes, right now. I’m sorry I got your father arrested,” Wells apologizes.

“Don’t you talk about my father!” Clarke snaps. 

“Please, I can’t die knowing that you hate me.”

“They didn’t arrest my father, Wells. They executed him. I do hate you!” The ship jerks harder, rattling everyone, and they all scream. Raven, Lincoln, Luna and Jasper all reach for each other right before the ship makes impact. They hit the ground and everything stops. There’s complete and total silence.

“No machine hum,” Monty announces.

“That’s a first,” Jasper observes, a little stunned. The sound of buckles clicking fills the room as everyone starts racing to get out of their seats.

“Finn, is he breathing?” Clarke asks as they both kneel next to the two kids who had followed him out of their seats. Finn’s look tells her everything. People start moving towards the door.

“Do not step outside,” Lincoln warns her.

“He’s right,” Raven agrees. “The retrorockets didn’t fire. Other systems could have malfunctioned as well.”

“We can’t just open the doors!” Clarke calls, pushing her way to the front of the crowd where a man in a guard’s uniform is telling people to back up.

“You didn’t land where you were supposed to, and parts of your ship broke off,” Lincoln adds. “Scouts from our village are heading to the different crash locations and they will not all be friendly to strangers.”

“What do I do?” Clarke asks as the guard puts a hand on the door latch.

“Stop!” Raven calls out, thinking quickly, “the air could be toxic!”

“If the air is toxic, we’re all dead anyway,” the guard retorts.

“Bellamy?” a young woman’s voice calls out. The guard’s head snaps up to the dark-haired girl standing at the back of the crown. People start whispering, and Clarke hears someone say something about hiding in the floor.

“They’re not going to listen,” Clarke tells Lincoln as Bellamy has what appears to be a reunion with his sister, who someone shouts is named Octavia.

“Then you need to get them to follow you,” Lincoln states. Bellamy opens the door and Octavia steps outside. Moments later, everyone else on the dropship is yelling in celebration as the radiation doesn’t cook them all.

Clarke goes looking for a map and whatever supplies she, Lincoln and Raven can scavenge from the ship. She takes it all outside and, for the first time, gives Jasper a real hug. They hold each other for a moment, and then she turns and hugs Monty too. Wells spots her out of the corner of his eye and shoots her a look of confusion. Clarke pointedly ignores him and walks over to the nearby ridge. Lincoln was right about them not landing where they were supposed to. She opens the map she found so Jasper, Monty and Lincoln can all see, pulling a pencil out of the kit she put together as Lincoln begrudgingly starts helping them plan a route to Mount Weather.

“Why so serious, Princess?” Finn asks, coming up next to her. “It’s not like we died in a fiery explosion.”

“Try telling that to the two guys who tried to follow you out of their seats,” Clarke snaps as Lincoln studies the map.

“You don’t like being called Princess, do you, Princess?” Finn teases. Raven turns to him, annoyance on her and Clarke’s faces.

“Do you see that peak over there?” they ask, pointing.

“Yeah?”

“Mount Weather,” Clarke informs him. “There’s a radiation-soaked forest between us and our next meal. They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain.” She heads back to the dropship, finding a flat surface for her and Lincoln to draw on as Monty and Jasper sort the supplies she, Lincoln and Raven managed to cobble together.

“The communications system is dead,” Wells informs her, jogging up to her.

“I know,” Raven snaps at him. Wells gives Clarke another odd look.

“I went to the roof. A dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires.”

“We can try and fix that later,” Raven tells Clarke and Jasper.

“All that matters right now, is getting to Mount Weather,” Clarke tells Wells. “This is us,” she says as Lincoln draws a line on the map. “This is where we need to get if we want to survive.”

“Where’d you learn to do that?” Clarke doesn’t answer. “Your father,” he guesses. Clarke shoots him a dirty look and Jasper walks back over from where he was standing on the ridge looking out at Mount Weather.

“They got a bar in this town?” he jokes, trying to kill the tension. “I’ll buy you a beer.” Wells puts a hand on his shoulder and pushes him back a bit.

“You mind?”

“Hey!” Clarke shouts as another of the kids notices what’s going on and shouts.

“Hands off him! He’s with us.”

“Relax,” Wells tries to placate, “We’re just trying to figure out where we are.”

“We’re on the ground,” Bellamy answers. “That not good enough?”

“Not when we have no food, no water, and no idea what’s out there,” Clarke snaps before Wells can open his mouth.

“You heard my father,” he says anyway. “We have to –”

“Screw your father,” Octavia cuts him off. “You think you’re in charge here? You and your little Princess?” she nods at Clarke.

“Do you think we care who’s in charge?” Raven spits back. “We need to get to Mount Weather no matter what Jaha said, because the longer we wait, the hungrier we get, and we won’t last long without supplies. It’s a twenty-mile trek, so if we want to get there before dark, you need to put on your big-girl panties and deal with the situation we’re all in.” Clarke can feel Wells staring, but she ignores him, looking at Jasper instead. He’s grinning at her like an idiot. Clarke flashes him a small smile and motions to leave when one of the prisoners grabs Wells, who had kept the argument going while Clarke wasn’t looking. Finn steps in, jumping from the dropship to land between Wells and the kid they’d called Murphy.

“Hey spacewalker!” Octavia calls, walking over to the boys. “Rescue me next.” Finn grins at her and Raven frowns, moving to take a step forward. Lincoln grabs her shoulder. She looks at him and he shakes his head.

“Not now.” Finn walks over to where Clarke is checking Wells’ leg where Murphy had kicked him. Jasper and Monty are divvying up the supplies into makeshift satchels.

“So, Mount Weather. When do we leave?”

“Right now,” she answers, standing up. “We’ll be back tomorrow with food,” she tells Wells.

“How are the two of you gonna carry enough food for a hundred.”

“Four of us,” Clarke corrects him, pointing at Jasper and Monty.

“Make it five,” Octavia corrects her, walking up to them. “Sounds like a party.”

“What the hell are you doing?” her brother asks, grabbing her arm. Clarke ignores them as Raven points at Finn’s wristband.

“Were you trying to take this off?” she asks, grabbing his wrist.

“Yeah. So?”

“So, this wristband transmits your vital signs to The Ark. Take it off, and they’ll think you’re dead,” Clarke explains.

“Should I care?”

“Well, I don’t know. Do you want the people you love to think you’re dead?” Raven snarks. “Do you want the Ark to follow you down here in two months? Because they won’t if they think you’re dying.” Finn doesn’t answer. “Then let’s go.” Clarke turns back to Wells.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” she tells him before walking off. Octavia catches up to her as they walk into the forest.

“Before you get any ideas, Finn’s mine.”

“Before  _ you _ get any ideas,” Raven retorts, “Finn’s taken.” She quickens her pace to get to the front of the group. Jasper reaches out and squeezes her arm. Clarke gives him a small smile.

Lincoln falls into step next to her as she leads the group through the by-now very familiar hunting grounds.

“I don’t like this,” he feels the need to inform her.

“I am well aware of how much you do not like this,” Clarke replies as quietly as she can, keeping an eye on her small group. “But right now, we don’t really have any other choice but to go to Mount Weather.”

“Who says they’ll let you in?”

“Lincoln is right,” Maya says, glancing around the forest warily. “They’re very cautious about strangers.”

“Do you get many strangers?” Clarke asks. Maya shrugs. Jasper is staring at her, and Clarke realizes that this must be the first time he’s seen her.

“That’s not even the beginning of what I don’t like,” Lincoln continues. “Stop and listen.” Clarke does so.

“It’s quiet,” she mutters. She looks behind her to see the others are a little bit behind her; Jasper is telling them about Monty’s family.

“Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?” Clarke calls. Jasper smiles sheepishly.

“Come on, Clarke. How do you block all this out?” Finn teases.

“Well, it’s simple,” she starts, “I wonder, ‘why haven’t we seen any animals?’ Maybe it’s because there are none. Maybe we’ve already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us.” She’s exaggerating, she knows. But Lincoln is right: the forest is too quiet for the middle of the day. “Sure is pretty, though.” Octavia makes a snide comment that she ignores. Clarke gets about ten feet ahead of them before Lincoln stops her, crouching in the brush. Clarke stares in wonder.

“You know, you’ve seen the deer before,” Lincoln teases.

“This is different,” she whispers back, a small smile on her face. She hears the others come up behind her and turns, gesturing for them to stay quiet and take a look.

“No animals, huh?” Finn remarks, moving to take a step forward. A branch snaps under his boot and the two-headed deer looks up. Everyone in their group – save her and Jasper – gasps in surprise and disgust at the sight. Clarke hides a grin of amusement and stands up.

“Come on,” she orders, standing upright, “we need to keep moving.”

“You need to take care,” Luna warns her. Clarke inhales the comforting smell of saltwater that follows the other woman everywhere. “Lincoln is right about the mountain being dangerous.”

“I know that the mountain is dangerous. You two keep telling me that,” Clarke hisses at them both. “But we really have no other choice. The Ark expects us to go to Mount Weather. If we can make contact with them from there, then that’s the best – and safest – option. It’s the only place we know of with safe food and supplies, and before you suggest it, Lincoln, you’ve already said that your people may not be so friendly.”

“I think all that time in solitary fried her brain,” Clarke hears Octavia remark to Finn.

“Want me to punch her?” Raven offers, smiling a bit too sweetly. Clarke just gives her a look.

“I know you’re annoyed that we’re here and you’re there, but now is not the time,” Clarke tells her. “You can deal with it when you’re down here.”

“Fine.” Raven grumbles. “I’ve been hearing some things though.”

“What kinds of things?” Jasper asks from Raven’s other side as he helps Octavia over a large tree branch. Raven give him a look, giving a particularly vicious strike at the project on her workbench with her hammer. “What? She’s cute,” he defends himself. “What have you been hearing?” he prompts Raven, falling back into step with Clarke as Octavia goes on ahead.

“Chancellor Jaha’s been shot. Word on the grapevine says whoever did it, escaped on that dropship.” Clarke and Jasper look at each other, then at Octavia, who is now leading their group. “Bellamy.” They all agree.

“Hey, you know what I’d like to know?” Finn announces, “Why send us down today after ninety-seven years? What changed?” Clarke ignores Octavia and Monty’s guessing at the Council’s reasoning. Jasper shoots her a pleading look. Clarke bites her lip; she knows how much he hates lying to Monty.

“It wasn't a satellite,” she calls from the back of the group, cutting off more speculation. “The Ark is dying. At the current population level, there’s roughly three months left of life support, maybe four now that we’re gone.”

“That was the secret they locked you up to keep? Why they kept you in solitary, floated your old man?” Finn realizes, turning to face her.

“My father was an engineer. He discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The Council and my mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were going to tell everyone anyway when Wells…” Clarke trails off.

“Wells turned in your dad?” Monty asks, incredulous.

“Anyway. That’s why today. That’s why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time.” 

“They’re gonna kill more people, aren’t they?” Monty asks, a little horrified. Clarke remembers that his parents are still on the Ark.

“If we don’t find a way to contact them to let them know that we are definitely alive? Probably.” Clarke confirms.

“Good. After what they did to me, I say, float them all,” Octavia comments, walking away from them. Jasper frowns, walking after her. Finn catches Clarke’s eyes.

“We have to warn them.” He insists, holding her gaze a little too long for either her or Raven’s comfort. She nods and turns around while stepping away, nearly walking right into Jasper, who is staring at Octavia as she strips out of her pants.

“Stop her!” Lincoln yells in their ears. Clarke winces but moves forwards.

“Octavia, what the hell are you doing?” Clarke shouts as Octavia steps off of the ledge into the river below. They all rush forwards.

“We can’t swim,” Monty points out. Octavia smirks and stands up. Clarke ignores Finn as he tells her to take her clothes off, eyes scanning the water.

“You really shouldn’t be swimming in that, Octavia,” Clarke insists. “Get out. Now.” Octavia ignores her. Lincoln spots the movement in the water first, Jasper second.

“Octavia, get out of the water!” Jasper echoes. The water snake moves too fast, grabbing Octavia and dragging her under.

“Distract it!” Luna shouts, leaning next to one of the boulders at the riverside; Monty and Finn kneel next to her to help push it into the water. Lincoln and Jasper jump as the snake lets Octavia go, sliding an arm around her back and pulling her to shore. Clarke immediately sets to tending Octavia’s wound as she clings to Jasper.

“Note to self,” Monty quips, “Next time: save the girl.”

“Next time,” Luna responds icily as she rips Jasper’s shirt to use for bandage, “stay out of the damn water.”

With Octavia injured, Clarke knows without Lincoln telling her that they won’t make it to Mount Weather before nightfall. He helps her find them a safe place to bed down for the night and she and Jasper set about making sure they’re safe from any sneak attacks.

“I’ll find you tonight,” Lincoln promises.

“No,” Clarke counters. “We need eyes on the dropship. We need to know what the others are doing. I don’t trust Bellamy Blake.” Lincoln looks grim but agrees with a sharp nod, pulling his mask down on his face. “Maya?” Maya shakes her head.

“I can’t find out anything about any kind of response to your dropship coming down, I’m sorry.” She apologizes.

“It’s okay.”

“Clarke, your mother’s been arrested,” Raven states as Jasper comes up behind her and takes her hand. Clarke’s knees go numb and she sinks to the forest floor.

“What?”

“Councilor Kane arrested her for going over the rationed medical supplies to save the Chancellor. She’s supposed to be spaced in the morning,” Raven says, grabbing Clarke’s other hand. “I’m so sorry.” Clarke just squeezes her eyes shut as Jasper and Monty wrap her in a hug.

 

* * *

 

 

Clarke wakes in the middle of the night to a familiar bird call. She sits up to find Lincoln standing next to her.

“I thought we said you weren’t going to come?” She whispers.

“I didn’t.”  He helps her to her feet, and Clarke finds herself staring at Wells from the tree line, lying on the ground.

“What happened?” she hisses.

“You were right not to trust Bellamy Blake,” Lincoln informs her, handing her a piece of burnt and twisted metal.

“He’s removing people’s wristbands,” she realizes. “He doesn’t want the rest of the Ark coming down.”

“Be careful, Clarke,” Lincoln cautions, leading her into the copse of glowing trees near her own campsite. “Desperate people are dangerous.” Clarke just nods. She stares at the glowing foliage for a moment. A branch snaps behind her and she tenses.

“It’s Finn,” Raven tells her, “he’s got water.” Clarke turns to the boy, glancing at the leaf in his hands.

“Did you go to the river?”

“Figured it was worth it,” he shrugs, handing it to her. Lincoln nods; the water is safe. Clarke takes a long drink and Finn smiles at her. “Think we’re all gonna grow two heads now?” Clarke scoffs. “Come on,” he grabs her hand once the water is all gone. “You have to see this.” He leads her over to a patch of mud, kneeling down next to it to point out an unusual print. He points at it. “That’s a toe. Near as I can tell, whatever it is is walking on two feet.”

“Pauna,” Lincoln breathes, examining the depth of the print. “She doesn’t usually come out this far.”

“What?” Finn questions.

“Nothing,” Clarke shakes her head, standing up and turning around. “Come on. I want to get an early start in the morning.” Clarke leads the way back to camp and lays down, but finds herself unable to sleep for the rest of the night. At one point, when she rolls over to look at the others, she finds herself staring out at the star-lit sky instead of the forest around her. She sits up. The floor is metal, surrounded by broken windows. When she stands, and walks over to one of the frames, she realizes exactly how high up in the air she is and stares.

“For someone who grew up in space, isn’t being scared of heights a little ironic?” a voice asks, amused. Clarke turns her head to find a young man with spiked hair sitting on the edge, legs dangling over where one of the frames is gone completely. “You’re Clarke, then?” he asks as she takes a seat next to him.

“And you’re Amari?” he grins at her. “Do you come up here a lot?” Amari shrugs.

“Whenever I can. It’s quiet up here.” Clarke leans against Amari’s shoulder.

“It feels like we’re moving.”

“This high up, buildings can sway a little. ‘Specially hundred-year-old buildings that were damaged in a nuclear apocalypse,” he teases, reaching a hand up to scratch comfortingly at Clarke’s scalp. “You’ve got such pretty hair, C. Make sure you take care of it, okay?” Clarke nods drowsily. When she opens her eyes, Jasper is gently shaking her shoulder and the sun is peeking through the treetops.

“We’ve got a plan.” He tells her. Clarke rolls over and pushes herself to her feet, following Jasper through the trees back to the river, where Finn and Monty seem to be testing the strength of a clump of vines they twisted together and tied to a tree branch. Clarke looks at Jasper and Raven.

“This is a stupid plan.”

“Blame Amari,” Raven tells her cheerfully. “He’s the one who let me go rope-swinging.”

“I’ll go first, Princess, don’t worry,” Finn teases as Jasper trades places with Monty. Finn tugs on the makeshift rope a few more times, glancing across the dangerous waters.

“You wanted to go first,” Clarke calls. “Quit stalling.”

“I don’t like this,” Lincoln says.

“You said that yesterday. I didn’t think one day would change your mind,” Clarke comments wryly.

“‘Apogee’, not ‘Apache’,” Jasper corrects Finn.

“He knows,” Clarke calls. “Today, Finn!”

“What’s got you all worked up?” Raven asks Lincoln, keeping an eye on the boys. Jasper eyes Octavia and offers to go first instead, taking the rope from Finn. Raven rolls her eyes.

“One of the scouting parties didn’t report back last night,” Lincoln shares as Jasper takes a breath and swings across the river. He makes it, cleanly clearing the landing with a little help from Amari. He stands up straight and lets out a cheer before Lincoln silences him. Clarke glances at Jasper as she makes her way over to the rope. Everyone else is whooping and cheering.

“Should I be worried?” Jasper asks from right next to her even as he holds up the beaten-up “Mount Weather” sign on the other side of the river, proof for the others that they’re heading the right way. Everyone starts cheering again and Lincoln snarls.

“Be quiet!” Monty looks at her, surprised.

“What is it?”

“I thought I heard something,” Lincoln says. Clarke whirls around, eyes searching for something she’s not sure she’ll find.

“Get down!” Luna shouts, diving for Jasper. She’s too late. Lincoln grabs Octavia and Monty and drags them behind a boulder with Clarke just as a spear comes flying out of the forest, hitting Jasper in the chest.

Clarke screams as Jasper flies back into a tree, falling back onto the ground.

“We are not alone!” Octavia cries out. She and Monty each grab one of Clarke’s arms. She’s still screaming as the others try to drag her away, hands scrabbling at her chest.


	16. Earth Skills

Clarke’s legs won’t work. Her head is spinning, her eyes are watering, her chest feels tight and she can’t _breathe._ The pain is overwhelming and she’s certain she heard her ribs crack when the spear made impact. Monty and Octavia each have hold of one of her arms.

“What the hell is wrong with her?!” Octavia shouts, panicked, as she and Monty practically drag Clarke away from the river.

“I don’t know, but we have to get out of here,” Finn declares, pressing on both of their backs.

“No,” Clarke slurs, ripping away from them to land on her hands and knees on the forest floor, almost on top of a skeleton covered in grass. Lincoln is running. She can feel branches against his arms and legs as he blocks out the pain (he’s been hit by a spear before, and he’s been trained practically his entire life to deal with pain) and runs towards where he knows they were. “No! Jasper!”

“Jasper is dead!” Finn yells.

“Clarke!” She whips her head up to find Vera kneeling in front of her. “What do you feel?”

“I can’t…it _hurts_ ,” Clarke gasps, one hand coming up to curl in the fabric of her shirt.

“What do you _feel_?” Vera asks again, more insistent this time. Clarke meets her eyes, tears still making her vision blurry, and then it clicks.

“Pain,” she breathes. “I feel his pain.” She fights to her feet, turning around and darting back through the trees towards the river. Finn follows, pulling her back around to face him.

“Are you crazy?! Stay in the trees!”

“Jasper is still alive!” she tells them as Finn pulls her away. Her legs are still weak, but Luna easily breaks Finn’s hold on her wrist and pulls her arm from his grasp. “Monty!” She grabs the other boy by the shoulders. “He’s _alive_!”

“Clarke, I –” He’s cut off by the sound of a distant scream.

“Jasper is alive,” she insists, the pain still a dull ache in her chest. “They took him.”

“Who the hell are ‘they’?” Octavia asks, panic still high in her voice.

“I – I’m not sure,” Clarke lies. Lincoln is closer now.

“We need to get out of here,” Finn insists.

“Not without Jasper!” Clarke yells.

“We stay here, we’re just asking for them to spear all of us,” Finn tries to reason. “Let’s go back to the dropship and get help.”

“By the time we convince anyone to come back here with us, Jasper could be dead!”

“We won’t do him any good if we’re dead!” Octavia points out. “Let’s get back to camp and get my brother.”

“I don’t trust him,” Lincoln tells Clarke. She turns to look at the now-bare tree line where Jasper had landed. Clarke bites her lip.

“You go get help. I’m going after Jasper,” She turns back towards the river. “I’m not leaving him to die.”

“I’m going with you,” Monty states fiercely.

“No, you aren’t.”

“Like hell –”

“Monty,” she cuts him off. “You’re too important. You were raised by Farm Station and recruited by Engineering.”

“So?”

“Lord save us from stupid boys,” Raven mutters. “If anyone can figure out how to get in touch with the Ark, it’s you. This,” She tells Monty, poking him in the head, “is gonna save everyone.”

“You figure out how to communicate with the Ark, and I’ll get Jasper back,” Clarke promises. She stalks off without waiting for the others to follow. Lincoln is on the other side of the river already, moving fast and quiet through the trees. “Find him.” She pleads. Lincoln instructs her downstream to a shallow river crossing and then leaves her. Clarke takes off through the woods at a dead sprint.

“You’re not that far behind them,” Amari says, pointing to a waterfall pool; there’s blood on some of the rocks.

“Clarke, we have a problem,” Lincoln states. She turns, looking out at a clearing she’s never seen before. “They’re using Jasper as bait.” He points to the center of the clearing, where two Grounders are covering a spike trap with debris.

“Bait for us?” Lincoln shakes his head ‘no’. “Bait for who then?”

“Bait for _what_ ,” he corrects. “A panther has been prowling the edges of the villages, going after non-warriors. It’s killed two children already.” Clarke frowns. “I’m beyond our boundary. They can’t know that I’m helping you.”

“I know where he is now. I’ll take care of it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Clarke hears Jasper before she sees him tied to the large, dead tree. The fact that he’s still conscious is good, but this close to him, the dull ache in her own chest has flared into new pain.

“Jasper?” she calls his name softly, settling on a sturdy branch next to him and brushing some hair from his face as she surveys the clearing from the tree line. “Can you hear me?”

“Clarke,” he slurs, “m’sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault,” she soothes. “They’ve put a poultice on the wound,” she says to Lincoln, who is sitting on Jasper’s other side.

“Panther likes live bait,” he bites out. “Your friends are on their way. The Collins boy isn’t a bad tracker.”

“I need to get him down, but I can’t lift him on my own.”

“Look to your left. I hid a knife.” Clarke searches the dirt a moment before finding it. “Be careful of the spike trap.” Clarke nods, and moves quickly and carefully out of the tree line. She’s nearly got all of the vines cut when she hears the voices, along with something else.

“Is that –?”

“The panther. Move quickly.” Lincoln urges her. Clarke cuts through the last vine and gets Jasper settled against her on one of the branches just as the panther enters the clearing and spots them. It growls.

“Clarke!” She whips her head around to see Wells and Finn coming through the tree line. Wells sees the panther at the same moment that it sees him. It changes course.

“No!” Lincoln thunders; he throws the knife. It ends up squarely in one of the panther’s eyes. It turns back towards her, running straight into the still-hidden spike trap. It doesn’t get back up. Clarke looks back at Finn and Wells to see Bellamy and Murphy, of all people, coming up behind them.

“Help me get him down!” she shouts, shocking them out of their stupor. Wells and Finn run towards her while Bellamy and Murphy check the spike trap.

“Looks like we’re taking back dinner,” Murphy smirks as Finn helps Clarke get Jasper to the ground. She sits with her knees beneath her, Jasper’s head in her lap as she examines the poultice. He’s not bleeding and his breathing seems fine, which means that his ribs are just cracked and not broken. Clarke breathes a sigh of relief, resting her forehead against his.

“You’re okay,” she whispers, “you’re going to be fine. I’ve got you.”

“We’ve got you,” Lincoln corrects her. “You’re going to need more of the plant for that poultice on his chest. He’ll need to drink it. I can get you some, but only enough to last you the night. I’ll let you know where I leave it.”

“Clarke, are you alright?” Wells asks, reaching out a hand. Clarke’s eyes catch on his bare wrist, reminding her of what Lincoln had showed her the night before. She stands, whirling on Bellamy.

“Why are so you intent on making the Ark think that we’re dying?” She snaps.

“What?” he rears back. Clarke grabs Wells’ wrist, waving it at Bellamy.

“How many wristbands have you destroyed? How many of us do they think are dead?”

“Twenty-four and counting,” Murphy answers calmly. Clarke drops Wells’ wrist, taking a step towards Bellamy.

“What the hell did you do? Hm? You weren’t _in_ the Sky Box. So, what did you do on the Ark that was so bad you’d rather risk coming to Earth and possibly being cooked in radiation than get spaced?” The clearing is dead silent. Clarke scoffs. “Coward.” She turns back to Jasper. “How do we get him home?”

“I brought one of the parachutes,” Wells offers, pulling it from his makeshift pack.

“I’ll take that,” Bellamy states, reaching for it. Luna grabs his wrist hard enough to bruise. Clarke raises an eyebrow at him. “It’ll be easier for Finn and the Chancellor here to carry Jasper than it will be for me and Murphy to carry home dinner.” Clarke lets him go.

“Give it to him.” Wells throws the parachute at Murphy. “Finn, can you help them get the panther out of the trap?” Finn nods.

“What about the wristbands?” Raven asks from where she’s kneeling next to Jasper,  one hand resting on his forehead.

“You need to tell my mom what’s going on. She needs to know we aren’t dying down here.”

“What am I supposed to tell her?”

“You’re practically a genius. I’m sure you can figure something out.”

“Excuse you, I _am_ a genius,” Raven retorts, but there’s no heat in her voice. They smile at each other a moment. Once the panther is wrapped securely in the parachute, Clarke turns to the trees. “We need to get going before the sun goes down.” She takes one step forwards and Bellamy grabs her wrist. He has a gun in his other hand.

“As soon as you take this wristband off, you can go,” Bellamy demands. Amari growls at him. He grabs Bellamy’s wrist, squeezing until he drops the gun. He twists until Clarke’s wrist is free of Bellamy’s grasp and then forces his elbow against Bellamy’s throat until he’s backed up against a nearby tree. He applies pressure until the older boy gasps, wedging a knee against his crotch as a threat.

“The only way the Ark is gonna think I’m dead, is _if_ I’m dead. Got it?” Bellamy doesn’t answer. Amari applies a little more pressure. “ _Got it?_ ” Bellamy nods. “Good,” Amari lets him go. “Touch me again, and I’ll break your wrist.” Clarke turns and starts the long walk back to the dropship, Wells and Finn following right behind her. “Let’s move.” She glances at Amari, squeezing his hand in thanks.

 

* * *

 

 

Raven can feel Clarke’s determination feeding her own as she makes her way from the engineering airlock to the mess hall. Her hands are shaking some. She feels pale and sweaty. She can still feel Jasper’s pain, and it’s why she breezed past the vitals check when she finished her zero-g work. Her eyes scan the mess hall twice before finding Abigail Griffin. She pushes past a few people, calling for her.

“Excuse me! Dr. Griffin!” The woman in question looks up. Clarke glances at her mother.

“She looks so tired,” she whispers to Raven. Raven nods.

“Dr. Griffin, I have a question about the quarantine,” Raven says, using the lie that everyone had been fed as to why there was currently no visitation allowed to the Sky Box. “My boyfriend’s in lockup.”

“What kind of question?” Clarke’s mom asks. Raven glances at her assistant, hesitating.

“Can we go…somewhere else?” she requests. “It’s…not something I want to spread around.” Abby frowns at her.

“What kind of question?” she repeats. Clarke sighs, at the end of her patience.

“I know about the real reason for the quarantine,” she snaps. Abigail and Jackson both stare at Raven a moment before Abigail takes her arm and starts leading her away. She doesn’t stop until she and Raven are alone inside her personal quarters.

“What do you think you know?” Abigail snaps.

“I know that you sent the hundred to the ground. I know that you think that they’re dying. And I can’t tell you how I know this, but I know that they’re not,” Clarke catches her mother’s eyes, holding her gaze. “I also know that they are facing some real trouble.” Abigail searches Raven’s face before seeming to come to some kind of a decision.

“Tell me what you know.” Raven takes a deep breath, grabbing one of the wristbands off of the worktable.

“They’re taking off their wristbands.”

 

* * *

 

It’s pitch black outside by the time they reach the dropship. The kids all cheer when Bellamy and Murphy unwrap the panther and declare it dinner. Clarke settles on the top level of the dropship with Jasper and goes about cleaning his face.

“Clarke?” Clarke looks up at Raven. “The council took a vote. It was a tie. Your mom has ten days to prove you guys really aren’t dying.”

“What do we do?” Clarke asks, leaning back on her heels. Raven shrugs.

“Your mom has an old-ass shuttle and a crazy plan. In the meantime, I have a bit of a saner one. If that doesn’t work, I’ll see you in ten days.”

“What’s your plan?”

“Can you alter one of the wristbands to turn it into a receiver?” Raven asks Monty. Monty looks startled but after a moment answers.

“If I can get one that doesn’t die the minute we take it off, sure. I’ll check the wiring on the roof in the morning and see what I can salvage.”

“Good. Go get some food and some sleep,” Clarke instructs. Finn comes up behind her as she’s dipping the now-filthy cloth back into the water. He takes Clarke’s hand and places something in the center. When she looks closer, she sees a small metal-working of the two-headed deer.

“What the fuck.” Raven states flatly. Clarke gives a forced smile and places the little metal creature to the side as Monty calls her name from downstairs. She sets the cloth aside and goes to find him. Outside, Bellamy is forcing kids to trade their wristbands for food. She grits her teeth.

She gives a high-pitched whistle and everyone turns to look at her. “You all are idiots!” she yells. “Life support on the Ark is failing!” There are some murmurs throughout the group. “Any people or family you may have left behind have three months, tops, before they all choke to death or GoSci decides to start administering some population control!” She turns to Bellamy. “And where do you think they’ll start? With Alpha Station? No. They’ll start with the workers. If you take off your wristbands, you’re killing all of them!” There’s silence.

“But we need to eat,” someone protests. Clarke walks over to Murphy, who’s doling out the food. She reaches for a piece of meat. When he grabs her wrist to stop her, Raven punches him in the nose. He falls back onto the ground, groaning.

“Whatever the hell we want, right?” she smirks at him and Bellamy as she walks off with her dinner, heading back to the dropship. She hands half of the meat to Monty. “Take it easy, okay? We’ve never had meat before.” Monty just nods. Once everything quiets down some, Clarke walks off to find the radioactive butterfly clearing where Lincoln says he stashed the medicine for Jasper.

“Did I ever tell you how creepy that fucking mask is?” Raven bites out at Lincoln.

“Raven,” Clarke admonishes, “you’re not mad at Lincoln, so don’t take it out on him. You can deal with Finn when you get down here.”

“If I get down here.”

“ _When_ ,” Clarke insists. She hears a noise when she turns to go back to the dropship and freezes, crouching in the underbrush. “See anything?” she asks Lincoln. Lincoln points up. Clarke looks and frowns. One of the kids has been tied up in a tree, hanging from his hands. Lincoln scrambles up the tree.

“Hey, kid?” he looks up at her.

“Griffin?”

“What’s your name?”

“Atom,” the kid answers.

“Bellamy leave you up here?” she guesses working at the knots. Atom nods.

“Do you want to cross Blake any more than you already have?” Lincoln asks Clarke seriously. Clarke ignores him.

“Why?” she asks Atom instead.

“As a message. To stay away from Octavia.” Clarke’s frown deepens.

“Maybe we should leave him here,” Lincoln suggests. She glances at him, a little surprised and then groans.

“Octavia? Really?” Lincoln won’t meet her eyes. “We’re getting him down.”

“Fine.” Lincoln agrees. He turns his attention back to the boy hanging from the tree. “This will hurt,” he warns. “When you drop, make sure to bend your knees and roll into it.” Atom nods again.

“You ready?” Clarke asks. “One, two –” She releases the last knot and Atom falls, rolling on the ground. Lincoln slides gracefully down the tree and walks over. Clarke offers Atom a hand up.

“Why are you helping me?”

“Because I don’t care about Bellamy Blake and his ‘law’. I just care about everyone surviving. Let’s get back to camp.”


End file.
